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December 18, 2013

Desk Jobasana: Another Loving Meditation on My Corporate Job. ~ Rikki Iwanowsky

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I won’t be doing this corporate practice forever…I can be present and alive anywhere and at any time, if I choose. This is my spiritual practice.

9:30 a.m. Expense reconciliationasana.

It’s quiet in here. I notice my breathing. I take several deliberate ujjayi breaths. No one notices because no one is here in the office with me. Everyone is in the field today, aside from two co-workers who are upstairs, in deep meditation, spreadsheetasana.

I empty my mind, becoming present to each small movement I am making.

Yes, this receipt does match the statement. Place it on pile. Gingerly lift next receipt and examine. Yes, this receipt does match the statement. Place it on pile. Gingerly lift next receipt…

Continue focus on breath. Yes, this receipt does match….

Open new window in Google. Type in ‘vegan recipe buckwheat pancakes’. Search. Click. Read. Print.

I recognize I’ve lost focus. Breathe and begin again.

I empty my mind. Gingerly lift next receipt. Yes, this receipt does match the statement. Place it on pile.

9:37 a.m. Time for a tea break.

Child’s pose. I enjoy each moment of blissful leg-stretching, standing rest.

9:40 a.m. Expense reconciliationasana. Breathe. Repeat 108 times to breath. Today’s kriya.

10:30 a.m. Inventoryasana. Check toilet paper: stockasana. Reorder: onlineasana. I’m flowing through the poses. It’s a Vinyasa.

10:45 am. I go for a walk in the fresh, warm air of spring. I reflect on my day thus far. It has been a challenging practice. I admit to myself that my mind and heart have not been fully in it. I take a breath and let it go. I decide to begin again.

I remember that I have my yoga practice to look forward to tonight, after my corporate job practice is in Savansana. I remind myself how I was able to pay for my yoga membership and, for that matter, the organic veggies in my salad in the office fridge. I remind myself of the nice people I work with, despite the solitude of today.

I survey my life for a moment from a view from above and see clearly how privileged I am in every way. Gratitude. I breathe it in, like the morning’s sweet air.

11:00 a.m. I go back into the office, disarmed and open to what is next.

Uncomfortable ergonomic chair. Lotus pose instead.

I make a list of everything I need to accomplish in the remainder of today’s practice:

1. Travel bookingasana;

2. Data entryasana;

3. Photocopyasana.

I move through my practice one pose at a time, trying to be present in each one. I bring myself back to my breath when my mind wanders.

4:30 p.m. Savasana. Relaxed, my practice is complete. I’m restoring my mind and body for the next phase of the day.

Having practiced the same sequence almost daily for years, I know these asanas well. Still, they feel a little different each day. One day is a struggle, with tightness in my muscles and my brain. The next day I fly straight through, flowing gracefully and light as a feather.

Every moment of the day I have a choice. I can choose to struggle, analyse and run away; or I can choose to stay, feel and breathe. When I choose to stay, my gratitude grows.

I won’t be doing this corporate practice forever, but while I am, I find my happiest, humblest moments when I allow the conscious unfolding of each mundane task.

I can be present and alive anywhere and at any time, if I choose. This is my spiritual practice.

 

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Assistant Editor: Michelle Wiley / Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

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